SINES Private Academy for the Gifted
by DarkArtistsCliff
Summary: Chlora is a young girl who followed in her father's footsteps and now attends the elitist school by the name of SINES. She'll make friends and discover romances along the way, but there are secrets in her family's past that will be uncovered. Will this change the way Chlora looks at life and others ? Will it affect her relationships? Can she overcome the darkness that lies ahead ?
1. The Letter

I was up in my room, reading a book titled _Skellig_. It was weird name, I had to admit, but fit the strange story quite well. So, a little about myself, I love strange stories to start. Especially when it's not very similar to stories I've read or seen before. My hair goes down to my lower back and is chamoisee-fallow brown colored with soft curls lingering at the bottom of my hair all around. I have amethyst purple eyes that shine with unyielding ambition. I am five feet, three inches tall and have flawless golden tan skin that radiates like light. Unexpectedly, I heard my father yelling for me.

"Chlora!"

My ears piped up as I got up off my bed to go downstairs. My room was all the way up on the second floor, while my father was down at the ground floor. Boy, could that man yell.

"Yes, Daddy?"

"The mail's here."

"Thanks Dad," I said as I kissed my father on the cheek and walked back up to my room. Hmm... Stuff from Guess, Seventeen magazine, like twenty late birthday cards, the bakery, Guns magazine, school! ... Geez.

"How do I have so much mail? I never even get half this much..." -_-"

I opened my school letter from Sines' Private Academy for the Gifted. This is what it read:

" SINES PRIVATE ACADEMY for the GIFTED

Headmaster:Xehanort

(Order of Elena, First Class, Chf. Turk, Supreme Court, International Confed. of Turks & SOLDIER)

Dear Ms. Symphony,

We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted to Sines Private Academy for the Gifted. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment. Term begins on September 1. We await your first arrival no later than August 14.

Yours sincerely,

_Xehanort_

Xehanort

Dean of Sines' Private Academy"

The second page with requirements read:

" UNIFORM

First-year and second-year students will require four sets of plain uniform (black and green or white and green).

First-year and second-year students will require one pair of protective gloves, goggles, and two night class robes (black and green or white and green).

COURSE BOOKS

(Found in School Library)

-_Initium: Latin for the First Year_

-_World History_

-_Economics_

-_The Study of Anatomy & Physiology_

-_English Language Arts: Fourth Course_

-_Beauty and Relativity of Astonomy and Astrology_

-_The Practice of Statistics_

Students may also bring any other personal items, excluding pets, but are reminded they are not to be used during class hours, or the student will face consequences for any offense."

I was so excited at that moment that I could barely move until I finally shouted, "Yes!"

"Chlora?"

I turned to see my father standing just outside my doorway. When did he...? I ran up to him and embraced him while yelling joyously, "I got into Sines'!"

My father just chuckled at my reaction and hugged me back.

"When do you have to be there by?"

"I need to be there on at least August 14th to get my stuff. Then, after that, I guess they'll just let me know."

~Next Morning: July 26th: Monday~

"Well, you've got less than three weeks. Don't you think you should start packing?"

"Oh, right," I bellowed as I began to move things from all over my room.

This was going unnoticed to me, but my father was just standing still at the doorway, staring at me in complete awe.

'She reminds me so much of you Autumn,' my father thought in nostalgic remembrance.

~Later: August 9th: Tuesday~

Two weeks had already passed after I recieved the letter. I was too excited to wait until August 14th, since I could go before that time anyway. I couldn't stop talking about it the day before and already had all of my things packed, so my father surprised me by getting tickets so we could leave today. My dad and I had a long drive, and we had the radio off and just talked most of the way. We finally departed and left our beloved city on Earth, aweing at the scene of it as we travelled further away. I and my father knew that it would be quite a while before we reached Twilight Town. Dad decided it was best for us to take a nap so it would be easier for me to adjust to the time change once I arrived. He said he had to make some calls before he decided to join me. I plugged in my earbuds and drifted into a dreamless sleep.

~Next Day: August 10th: Wednesday~

Once I had woken up, I turned my head and noticed my father's head near mine, slobber lightly dribbling from his bottom lip. Someone must be very relaxed. I began to giggle at this.

"Ew... Dad, wake up," I said, still in my cheery tone.

"Huh?" he asked, still a bit groggy.

I responded while peering out the window, "We're landing."

He leaned a bit over my lap to look outside the window as well. As we landed, my dad began to say there were some important things he needed to tell me before he left back home. I nodded, and we walked over to pick up the rest of my luggage.

"I've called up an old friend to come escort you. The school will let you stay at the dorms until school starts. His name is Cloud. Uh, well, I guess it might be a bit strange to call him an old friend since he's actually more around your age."

"Really?"

"Yeah, I think you'll like him. Despite his appearance at times, he's actually pretty awesome. Anyway, there he is now. Don't forget to call me every now and then to let me know how you're doing."

"Mmkay."

A slick black car parked nearby, and a blonde boy with striking blue green eyes stepped out of it. He had dark colored clothes on and was about four inches taller than me. My father and I and the boy named Cloud walked toward each other.

"Honey, this is Cloud Strife. Cloud, this is my daughter Chlora."

"Hi Cloud. Nice to meet you," I greeted as I took Cloud's hand and shook it.

"Nice to finally meet you. I've heard so much."

"Alright you two. It's high time I get going now," my father said as he walked away after giving me one final hug.

"Bye Daddy," I yelled as I held my smaller suitcase in front of me.

"Goodbye Mr. Symphony," Cloud said as he gave a small wave to my father.

"C'mon. I'll help you get your things."

"Oh! Thank you!"

As I began to grab my things, Cloud walked over to his car with two of my suitcases and opened his trunk. I had about two suitcases filled with clothes, one for hygienic products, and another two for my electronics. Those were pretty heavy. In my backpack, I had a few notebooks, a sketchbook, writing utensils, and some crayons and colored pencils.

"What about that bag by your feet?"

"Huh? Oh! Sorry, I forgot about that one."

I took my small suitcase with me and sat in the front passenger seat with the bag down by y feet.

"Um, you can put your bag in the backseat if you want..."

"Oh, no thank you. I'm fine with it up here. Thanks though."

He nodded and started the car, and we both clicked on our seatbelts. After about twenty minutes of driving, I began to gaze around.

"Hey, Cloud. Where are we going?"

"To the academy. It's all the way on the other side of Twilight Town. It's a pain sometimes because of the long drive, but having the school near Sunset Terrace is worth getting there. Sorry it's taking this long."

"Oh. I don't really mind the long drive. I was just wondering."


	2. Welcoming Committee

I had fallen asleep awhile ago and just awoke to silence.

"Finally awake sleepy-head?"

"Hm?"

I turned to my left to see Cloud.

"Oh. ...What time is it?"

"It's 12:42. Come on, I'll take you to see Miss Lulu."

Cloud walked me into the large building. I entered and went toward a door with a small sign above it that said 'REGISTRAR' with the name 'LULU' in smaller font underneath it. The door was open, and Cloud knocked gently on the door. Miss Lulu turned to face the two of us.

"Cloud?"

"Miss Lulu, I brought the new student to get her supplies."

"I see. What's her name?" she asked as she turned back toward the computer on her desk. I opened my mouth to speak, but Cloud beat me to it.

"Chlora Symphony."

"Symphony? As in Dan Symphony?"

She turned to Cloud, who nodded, then to me and stared into my eyes. I could sense a glint of interest in her eyes. She turned back to her computer once again and printed something out. Once the print was finished, Lulu handed an envelope to Cloud and spoke, "She'll be staying in room seven with two others. Her uniforms and other things should already be in there ready to go."

Cloud walked out with me after we both thanked Miss Lulu.

"You're in the Southern Dorm."

"Southern Dorm?"

"Yes. Girls have the Eastern and Southern Dorms, and we have the Western and Northern Dorms."

"Wait, how are we supposed to know which one is which?"

"The Southern Dorm is amethyst, the Eastern Dorm is white, the Western Dorm is cerulean, and the Northern Dorm is black."

"Oh. So what about you?"

"Hm? What do you mean?"

"Which dorm are you in?"

"Oh, I'm in the Northern Dorms."

"Oh, this is so neat! It matches my eyes!"

Cloud scoffed out a small chuckle as he saw my unique eyes admire the amethyst colored building. As we went up the stairs, we saw an open door which I assumed to be room seven because Cloud stopped right in front of it. I looked into the room with curiousity as I walked in, a bit slowly, and Cloud just stared in dumbfounded.

"Hello?"

Cloud's eyes quickly widened a bit as he whispered loudly, "Chlora, get out of there!"

"Huh?" I asked as I turned around to see Cloud with a serious expression on his face.

"Get out of there. Now!"

I gave a quick nod and ran toward Cloud. I heard something that sounded like a gun cock and small bullets whizzing past me. As if in sight, I ducked my head down to dodge and ran faster out of the room. I tried to keep myself from letting out the squeal in the back of my throat. Being the smart person I was, I also shut the door behind me instead of just leaving it open to be attacked.

"Cloud, what's going on?"

"Welcoming committee."

"What!?"

Is he freaking serious?!

We ran down the stairs and toward the Northern Dorm. I saw Cloud take out a card, use it on the door and quickly pull it away, then unlock a lock right beneath it with a golden key. He suddenly opened the door and rushed in while saying, "This way! Chlora!"

"Right," I said as I shook my head straight out of my daze. I followed Cloud in and also shut that door. I noticed Cloud near an open window, who bid me to follow in suit.

"Why are you going out the window?"

"One of those guys is my roommate, and I don't exactly want to be cleaning paint."

They were shooting paintballs at me? -_-

I shook the thought from my mind as I followed Cloud out to the thin back terrace. Cloud kept calm and walked to the end of the building at his normal pace. I was walking at the same speed behind him, wondering where he was leading me. Cloud jumped over the end of the terrace fence from the two story drop to ground level. I was a bit wary of the jump, but snapped out of the trance as soon as I heard some shuffling near the window we had just exited from. I saw a black glove and immediately decided to jump down to Cloud.

"They're coming out of the window," I whispered.

Cloud looked back up to the terrace for a brief moment, then told me to follow him. He used another card and a white golden key to unlock the gym door. I went in with him, and Cloud locked the door back up. Once done, we relaxed and began walking again.

"Cloud, why do you have a key to here?"

"I'm one of the prefects at Sines'. We have keys to all the buildings, except the girls' dormitories of course."

"Oh..."

"Which reminds me," Cloud remembered as he reached in his back pocket, "I still haven't given you your key and your key card yet."

"The dorm keys are different too?"

Cloud nodded with his response, "The Eastern Dorm has copper keys and the Western Dorm has obisidian keys."

"That's neat. What does a prefect do?"

"There isn't really much to it. All we have to do is keep the peace and order in this place. It's not such a big deal though, only a few people are caught out of line sometimes."

"Hm, that still sounds like something fun to do. So you know a lot that goes around at this school?"

"Yeah. Even though a lot of people gossip, the prefects know the actual story most of the time."

"So, are all of the prefects guys? Because you said that you didn't have keys to the girls' dorms-all of you."

"Well, most of the prefects are. There are only six of us though. The two girls are Cissnei and Tifa. They have keys to the girls' dorms, but not the guys' dorms. The other prefects are guys named Leon, Rude, Sephiroth, and then there's me."

We were about to start our second lap around the gym when we heard a door being fiddled with.

"Don't tell me," Cloud said as we waited for something to happen. Both of us heard the door unlock, then something else. Two minutes later, people burst in through the door and ran toward us, shooting the paintballs. They missed Cloud and barely grazed the side of my face and my shoulder. I spotted a cart of basketballs and ran toward them.

"Cloud!"

I threw a ball to him and took two for myself. I ran back to my original position to be closer to the targets. I threw both the basketballs at immense speed as Cloud did the same. We hit all three of them in the head and caused them to drop their gear. Cloud ran over to reveal a thin redhead in a ponytail, a buff boy with a childish air about him, and another boy with black spiked hair that seemed to defy gravity. Cloud noticed the key card on the sinewy boy's waist.

"So, that's how you got in. Why do you even have a key card? You're not a prefect."

"Cissnei left and Miss Lulu gave me the position."

"You took Cissnei's dormitory key too? That's pretty low."

"C'mon Cloud. Just trying to have some fun with the new girl," he spoke as he turned to me with a smile.

"Seriously man, you need to cool it," the guy with red hair spoke to Cloud.

Cloud sighed and shook his head. He then proceeded to introduce me.

"Chlora, this is Zack, Reno, and Vanitas."

"Pleasure," wooed the one named Reno as he kissed my hand, causing me to blush slightly.

"Back off. I don't want her getting harrassed the first day she gets here," Cloud said as he turned his head toward Zack and Vanitas, "or injured."

Once we left, Reno decided to finally comment on the situation. Vanitas had already decided to shrug the whole thing off and leave.

"Hey, Cloud was a bit touchy. Don't you think ...Zack?"

Zack nodded and was stunned by Cloud's sudden haughty behavior as well. He spoke, but only to himself, as Reno had also escorted himself out of the gym.

"Yeah..."

'Wonder what's gotten into Cloud.'


	3. A Look Around

Cloud had finally let go of my wrist, a bit to my disappointment. I hadn't really decided if I liked him or not yet since I barely met him, but he seemed nice and is really handsome. We arrived back at my dorm seconds after, the door still wide open. Cloud shook his head and closed the door which automatically locked on its own. Cloud closed it so I could try my room key combination which fit perfectly.

"Alright. You can go unpack your things and settle down in one of the empty rooms. Are you staying until school starts, or are you going to leave and come back? Dan didn't mention that part to me."

"I'm staying here."

"Okay. One of the other prefects or I will be here later, or tomorrow to show you around. I'm going to go talk to Miss Lulu."

"Okay. Thanks Cloud," I spoke smiling. Cloud nodded and headed out while closing the light-weight, electonically-equipped door.

I was in the living area, and there were five rooms to choose from: one room across from the door, two rooms adjacent the door, and two rooms inbetween those three. The middle room across from the door and the room left from it were both taken. The two rooms on the right had windows because they were on the outer-most side part of the building. The middle room and the one left of it both had windows facing the back of the building. I chose the room that was most to the left. It had no windows because the wall connected to dorm eight next to it and there were no windows built into any of the front walls of the dorms. There were only two long, thin windows on either side of the dorm's main door.

I turned on the light and found that this room looked as barren and boring as the other two empty rooms. I didn't unpack much but my clothes and some things to put in the restroom. I took the charger out of one of the outer pockets in the little suitcase I had and plugged it into the outlet to charge my phone. It was nearly 1:30, so I decided to leave my things, close my room door, and go out to explore my new school. I had already seen the office, dorm buildings, and gym so far. I didn't know what else there was, so I just settled for seeking out the classrooms and the field. The field was easy to find. I spotted it almost as soon as I closed the door. It was behind the boys' Northern Dorm. It took me a few minutes getting to the field, but not too long.

As soon as I saw the entire field, my mouth went agape. It went on for a yards. The field had a space for football right in the middle. In front of me was a half-mile long track, the football field, then a soccer field. On either side of the football and soccer fields were were each a baseball field. Also, on either side of the track were places most likely used for track and field. It was simply a magnificent sight to see!

"Gazing out at the field are we?"

I gasped as I heard the unexpected and deep voice and turned around. I saw a male with long black hair and unusual yellow eyes who wore red and black clothing. He had black gloves and shoes which were rimmed and designed with a sort of silvery-gold color. I couldn't help but stare into his eyes, forgetting he was even there.

"Typical."

"Huh?" I studdered out.

"Are you ...new to Twilight Town by any chance?"

"Well I, yeah, but ...how did you ...?"

"The way you were staring out at the field. Even an incoming freshmen wouldn't look at it that way. It's typical behavior of someone new to Twilight Town."

"Oh..."

For some reason, the way his voice was made his words seem a bit rude. However, I knew that's not how he meant it somehow.

"I'm sorry."

I had always apologized for doing silly things like that, and never bothered to think of a reason why. It was just the way I was. Although I'm not very timid, it's just a bit of a habit.

"Don't be. I was only curious."

"Wait, why are you back here?"

"I come behind the dorms to relax a bit. Or just when someone begins to ...pester me."

I turned back to the field and stood still. I felt somewhat awkward after randomly talking to someone that I didn't really know, but didn't want to leave and wasn't sure why.

"My name's Vincent."

I turned back to him and smiled.

"I'm Chlora."

"Chlora. Interesting name."

After a while longer, he spoke again as he pushed himself away from the wall he had been leaning against, "It was a pleasure meeting you."

"Likewise," I agreed, still smiling.

"I must get going now. Goodbye Chlora."

"Bye Vincent."

After a while, I was back in my room. After seeing the field, I decided I would let the classrooms be a surprise for when I started, or when someone showed me around the school. I went and laid on my bed and decided to take a nap. I wasn't lazy, but found sleeping to be a favorably relaxing pasttime. A few hours later, I woke to a girl with long black hair and big black eyes to match and a blonde haired girl with stunning green eyes. I wasn't prompted to move, but a massive chill went up my spine with how close the blonde girl was to my face. I just lay there awkwardly trying to find something suitable to say.

"...Hi?"

"Hi! I'm Rikku!"

"I'm Tifa."

"You must be our new roomie!"

Because I just woke up, it took a moment or two to get my reactions going.

"Uh... hi?"

"Oh, come on! Get up lazy," yelled the blonde girl.

"I'm not ...lazy?"

Rikku was about to respond, but a knock on the door interrupted her. Rikku went to answer while Tifa sat next to me on the bed.

"I hope you're liking it here. Have you gotten your schedule yet?"

"It's okay. Some interesting people," I admitted, thinking back to Vincent and my 'welcoming committee,' "and ...what was the other thing? Oh yeah, my schedule. They gave that to me in the envelope."

"May I see it?"

Ugh... Why...? I'm tired... I reached over to grab my envelope and pulled out my schedule. I gave it to Tifa to look over.

"What grade are you in?"

"I'm a junior. So is Rikku. Are you an incoming freshmen or did you transfer from another school?"

"Incoming."

1 Latin - Luxord - E32  
>2 World Hist - Vexen - F14<br>3 Econ - Auron - F23  
>4 Anatomy - Basch - C32<br>5 English - Fran - A18  
>6 Astronomy - Saix - C21<br>7 Statistics - Lazard - B47

"Looks like we have Latin and Econ together. And I think Rikku has History with you too."

"Oh, that's cool," I spoke as I was handed back my schedule.

"Chlora! The puppy's here to see you!"

"Puppy?"

Rikku walked in with one of the three that had attacked me earlier. As soon as I met his gaze, I jumped behind my bed for protection, leaving the two other girls confused.

"I'm not here to hurt you. Actually, I came to apologize for doing that."

I poked my head out over the top of the bed. I sat with my face like a small child trying to figure out a difficult puzzle.

"Mm... Okay," I accepted smiling.

"And um... Miss Lulu wants to see you tomorrow."

"What for?" I asked as I returned to my position next to Tifa. Zack just smiled and shrugged.

"Well, since you're all here. I might as well introduce myself. My name's Chlora. Chlora Symphony."

Then, Rikku noticed the paper still in my hand.

"Hey! Is that your schedule?"

"Oh yeah. You guys have History together," Tifa said.

"Hey, can I see that?" Zack wondered curiously. As Zack skimmed over my schedule, he began to speak again.

"I thought..."


	4. The Symphony's Generations

"I thought you were a freshman."

"I am."

"You're not supposed to have Econ, and you're missing PE. Oh, maybe _that_'s what Miss Lulu wanted to talk to you about."

Rikku was also confused, "Didn't Sephiroth have Econ his freshman year?"

"Yeah, but Sephiroth's kind of a special case," Zack explained to Rikku, then turned to me, "Well, for now, you and I have Econ and Stats together."

Zack handed me back my schedule, said his farewells, and was on his way out with Rikku as his escort. I now had two questions on my mind:

_Question One: What's the big deal about Econ?_

_Question Two: Who was Sephiroth, and what's so special about him?_

I wanted to ask Tifa so that I'd know now, but felt more comfortable asking Cloud, since he was a friend of my father.

"Um, I don't mean to be rude, but I just had a long drive following a very long flight. Do you mind if I get back to sleep?"

"Right. We'll talk to you later Chlora," Tifa left with a smile on her face.

I closed and locked my door, then went to lay on the bed. I woke up the next morning at just after ten. I still lay there for about half an hour before I finally decided to get up. I was still dressed in my clothes from yesterday. I went over to the restroom to wash my face. I stood there for a minute, still trying to wake up. I finally brushed my teeth, cleaned my face and ears, and brushed my hair. I undressed myself, put my dirty clothes in the new black hamper, and went to take a shower. Once I got out and freshened up, I put on a white t-shirt, dark grey sweat pants, and long white socks. I then turned to face my three other suitcases. The ones with my electronics and the other one with the rest of my clothes had still been with Cloud.

"When was Cloud able to...? ... Hmm, I guess I should start unpacking then. Four years is a long time."

I unzipped my suitcases and began storing my clothes in the closet and drawers. I then set up my computer and PSP on their chargers. I noticed that the room already came with a nineteen inch LED television, so I unpacked my PlayStation3 console and the accessories for it. I left the items on my bed and left my room in search of food. Rikku suddenly bounced out in front of me.

"Hey, you're awake," Rikku said rather loudly.

"Umm, yeah? How long have you been awake?"

"Since nine," answerd a voice from another room.

"Tifa's up too?"

Rikku nodded. The two of us walked to the kitchen where Tifa was. I took a deep breath and said dreamily before entering, "I smell pancakes."

As soon as we walked in, Tifa flipped one with a spatula. I spoke in admiration as I looked around the kitchen.

"Ever since I stepped foot in here, I hadn't realized how big this place looked."

"That's Sines' for you," Tifa answered.

"Speaking of, where exactly are the classrooms?"

"They're behind the Eastern Dorm."

Tifa followed Rikku's response, "Behind the Northern Dorm are the fields, behind the Western Dorm are the offices, the main school entrances, and the outlet."

"The ...outlet?"

Tifa continued, "Yeah, our friend Yuffie drags people out there anytime she can."

Yuffie...

"How about the Southern Dorm? What's behind these?"

"Er..."

"The Southern Dorms?"

"Well, no one really knows."

"Yeah. Exactly," Tifa agreed.

One of my eyebrows rose in suspicion. Okay...

"Are you hungry?"

"Um, yes. May I have some please?"

"Sure. How many?"

"Three! Thanks Tifa," I said politely.

"Where are the plates?"

"They're over here," Rikku replied as she handed one to me.

"Thanks."

I went through the near cabinets and drawers for cups and silverware to set up the table.

"Oh, you don't have to do that."

"I'm sure, but it's a favorable habit," I explained while smiling.

"What do you guys want to drink?" I asked.

"I'm making coffee," Tifa said.

Coffee? But we're in high school...

"I'll drink milk," Rikku said.

I drank milk also. For breakfast, we all ate pancakes, scrambled eggs, and country fried potatoes. I was surprised. Not many teenagers could cook so well, including myself. I did want to learn though. I had asked my father to teach me before, but I was usually busy once he had the time and vice-versa.

"Oh my gosh. Thank you Tifa, it was delicious."

"Well, thank you. I'm glad you like it."

"I keep telling her she should be a chef after she graduates, but she wants to waste time at college!"

You responded light heartedly, "It's not a waste. Tifa probably just wants to do something else or have something to fall back on in case it doesn't work out. You can't get almost any career with just a high school diploma anymore."

"That's what I keep trying to tell her," Tifa argued with a light chuckle.

"Hmph!" Rikku pouted from being teamed up against as Tifa and I giggled.

After we finished eating, we had each put our dishes in the dishwasher. Tifa and Rikku went into the living room to watch television and I went to my room to set up for gaming. I walked over to my closet and there was the box of all my video games just like Dad had promised. Earlier, I noticed a tall black bookshelf with sleek doors near the end of the closet on the west wall of my room. It had seven shelves that were each nine inches long and was four feet wide. On the top shelf, I stacked games for my portable consoles, beneath that, gamecube games. The next three shelves were full of XBOX, XBOX360, PlayStation2, and PlayStation3 games. I was never really one for first-person shooters, but a few of my closer guy friends at home got me a bit addicted. I played all kinds of games like racing, adventure, sports, first-person shooters, and music. I usually got games that weren't full of female artists. Though I didn't mind females singing, I preferred to listen to males sing.

On the bottom shelf, I stacked a bunch of movies which I also stacked on top of the bookshelf. My favorite movie genres were sci-fi, action, horror, and animated. I had some comedy movies in there also along with some romance movies. I wasn't big on romance movies, but collected ones I thought had a good plot. Like the Twilight Saga for example. I really hated the fact that vampires sparkled, the werewolves just transformed into giant wolves while still having their humanity in tact, and the ending with Jacob. Talk about sending a bad message. But other than that, I really unexpectedly got into the series. I kind of hate myself for it, but, oh well. What can you do?

Once I was done, I slipped on a pair of light grey Jordans and sat back on my bed. Then I took my PSP, laptop, and phone all off of their chargers. I threw the chargers into the top drawer of the small forest green nightstand with golden trimming that my electronics were on. I turned on my phone and sent a text message to my father.

'_Good morning Dad. Found the games box. Thx sooooo much! Love you! :D_'

I still don't believe it. Dad still got me those new games. He knows I think it's unfair to get me those before they come out. Oh well, that's why he's so cool I guess. Better to appreciate than complain. I chuckled slightly at the thought.

Meanwhile, in the living room, Tifa and Rikku were watching MTV2 and saw something rather interesting.

"We're here with Dan Symphony, world famous architect and designer. So Dan, I hear from our expert statisticians that after a few more major projects here in our world that your status will finally move up from millionaire to billionaire?"

"It's true Misty. You see the thing is..."

"OMG," Rikku started, "Is that our Dan Symphony? The one from Spira who-"

"It is. I didn't know he was still alive. It wasn't that long ago, but everyone speaks of him as if he'd vanished from existence."

"...you know? I mean, I'll have a lot of time now because I'm still a single parent and my only child got accepted into Sines', which is the school I went to in the world I lived in before I began traveling and ended up here. She only left a few days ago, but I already miss her so much."

Dan's eyes became distant, but he still kept his sincere smile and attention on the interview.

"That's understandable. I got a bit nostalgic myself when my children went off to college."

"Oh, she's not in college. She's just going to high school."

"Oh no? Really? Well, that's something isn't it?"

Tifa spoke in disbelief, "No way."

"Don't tell me."

"I know it's hard to let go, but Sines' is an academy for gifted kids, and I really want her to get the best education she can. I mean, I don't worry much about her safety because I have people I can trust there looking after her."

"Mhm, and what is your daughter's name, if you don't mind my asking?"

"Chlora. Chlora Adenine Symphony."

Tifa and Rikku's mouths dropped as they gasped and turned towards Chlora's room. They then looked to one another in shock and disbelief.


	5. Rus

After a few minutes, all of my social media, game, and update notifications and text messages came through. I quickly cleared all of my update notifications, did the small deeds that my games needed, and skimmed through my other notifications. Most messages were from friends asking about the new place and saying how much they missed me. My best friends, George and Amy, also messaged the previous and wanted to be kept updated on my grades and anything juicy that happens.

Amy was a bit of a gothic lolita, prep, and geek mix. She wasn't really one to get herself involved outside of school, unless it involved skateboarding or graffiti. At school, she was the president of the film society's club and was the third standing member of the schools' eighth grade representatives. George was one of the popular guys who was dating the head cheerleader. He was also a bit of a nerd who was a gay rights activist as well. Something his parents got him into. I was a bit of a prep also who's a major gamer and a total nerd. I mean, I am. I was captain of the girls' soccer team at my last school too and a major track runner. Together, we were the unique trio of junior high that just about everyone adored. Everything seemed to be traveling well into high school with them except for the fact that the three of us weren't together since I had transferred to Sines'. I'm nothing here, now that I think of it. ...

After that, I got similar text messages from other family members and friends who also congratulated me on getting into Sines'. I got a reply from my father as well.

'_Morning honey lol glad you like it Oh and did you see the new ones I really hope you like them. Love you._'

'_I did! Thank you so much! Cant wait to try them out! :) Love you too!_'

The last message I saw was from my ex-best friend, Jonathan. Oh... Wonder what he wants.

'_Hey Chlora heard you got into sines jus wanted to say good luck n I kno youll do well for your future. I also wanted to apologize for everything I kno you been thru alot n I probly jus added to it anyway really am sorry n Im proud of you :)_'

'_It's alright. Thanks._'

I hope Jonathan's doing well. I should talk to him later.

"Chlora," Rikku called out, "You have another visitor!"

"'Kay, thanks! Be out in a sec!"

I finished setting up your PlayStation3 and XBOX360 consoles, put on a somewhat thick, black, zip-up hoodie, and put my phone in my back pockets. Then, there came a knock on my door just before I had shut off the lights and opened the door.

"Oh. Hi Cloud," I spoke with a joyous smile.

"Hi Chlora. You ready to head out?"

"Let's go."

"Bye Tifa, bye Rikku," you called.

"Bye you two, I should have her back soon."

We walked down to the main area within the dorms.

"So, this grassy place is the main quad, and this iron square pillar is a monument."

"To what?"

"All of the changes brought throughout all of Midgar. On one side, it has the names of people who have saved us from disaster. On the other side, there are names of people who have tried to destroy our world."

I gasped and looked to Cloud in surprise.

"Why would anyone want to do that?"

"Well, there are a lot of reasons. Some people are even unaware of their actions or are acting involuntarily."

I turned back to the monument and stared at it in awe.

"C'mon, let's go to the fields."

"Oh, your fields are huge," I exclaimed with glee as I also thought back to Vincent.

"You've already seen them?"

"Yeah, I kind of did my own little exploration yesterday."

"Oh, did you now? Does that mean I don't need to show you around?"

"No, please! I don't wanna get lost when school starts," I spoke while laughing lightly.

"Okay, since you've already seen the fields, I guess we can go behind the Eastern Dorm to see the classrooms."

Awe, I wanted to see the fields again. ...Oh well. Once we passed the Eastern Dorms, I gazed at the buildings in amazement. Each of them were three or four stories tall, and there were six buildings. They were a smooth cream color with every other building an onyx black. They each had a giant forest green letter on their upper right corners. There were also two gymnasiums, one bigger than the other, that were both the same cream color with pure black lining and forest green trimming.

"Building A is the English building, Building B is the mathematics building, C is for science, and D is for the elective classes. Building E holds all of the language and arts classes, and F houses all of the social, political, and economic studies classes."

"Woah..."

"Then you have the big and small gyms."

I quickly took notice of the big gym.

"Hey, is that the one we ran into yesterday?" I pointed out.

"Yep."

Wow. How did I not notice all of this?

"Behind the gyms is the Indistrial Tenchnology Building, but we just call it the I.T. Building."

"I'd laugh if someone ended up calling that the 'it' building," I confessed chuckling.

"Yeah," Cloud scoffed in amusement as well.

"Rooms ten through nineteen are on the first floors, twenty to twenty-nine on the seconds floors, and I'm sure you get the idea."

I nodded.

"Interesting. No one through nine?"

"Just in the IT Building."

"Ah, so, where to next?"

"Behind the Western Dorms."

"Those are the offices and school entrances?"

"Mhm, and the outlet."

"Oh, right."

"There's a popular restaurant we all like to go to called Rus, but I'm sure that once you make friends here, they'll drag you out and give you a tour of the outlet."

"Ha ha, okay."

"Do you want to head back or check out Rus? It's almost five o'clock."

"What's going on at five?"

"Nothing, just going to meet some friends. Actually, do you want to join me? Get to know some people before school?"

"Sure," I answered hesitantly. The two of us walked to Rus, an elegant and classy night restaurant. They seemed to be a bit busy, although not too full. Cloud led me near the middle of the place and sat me at a table with him.

"No one's here yet?"

Cloud shook his head and responded, "We're a bit early."

Classical music played sofly in the background as a waiter stopped by and brought us some grape juice. I looked to Cloud, then smiled and nodded to the waiter in gratitude for the drinks.

"Are they always this nice?"

"When they know people."

About fifteen minutes had passed when a brunette with a noticeable face scar showed up. Zack showed also, just a few seconds after, with a brunette girl in a pink dress and a jean jacket and a tall boy with very long silver hair.

"Hey, Chlora."

"Hello, Zack," I spoke with a smile.

"So, I see you've finally forgiven your attacker," Cloud joked. I giggled as Zack pouted in response to being referred to as such.

"Come on Cloud, it's not like I was trying to kill her."

"Maybe."

Zack supported his head with his hands and continued to pout.

"Chlora, I'd like to introduce you to Leon, Aerith, and Sephiroth."

Sephiroth... I stared at him for just a moment before someone brought me back. The one named Leon cleared his throat.

"Oh, right. Sorry about that. His name is actually Squall."

"Squall? So, is Leon a nickname then?"

Why do I sound British? O.o


	6. Girls Can Eat Too

"Kind of," he responded somewhat uncomfortably. Probably because of the weird accent that just exploded from my mouth.

"Well, it's nice to meet the three of you. My name is Chlora as you might have taken notice," I greeted.

"Cloud, your friend is very well-mannered," Sephiroth complemented, making me blush. Cloud chuckled as I thanked Sephiroth. He smiled at me and I returned the gesture. I listened to the group of boys talk for about an hour while looking around the room subconsciously. I took out my phone every now and then to play fruit pirate or solitare. The subjects I heard them speak of most were school, sports, games, and the military. It took quite a while before I finally realized that Aerith had left.

"Hey, Cloud?"

"Hm," Cloud asked, becoming distracted by me.

"Where'd the other girl go?"

"Aerith? She had to go. She likes to go to sleep early."

"Oh."

First time I've ever heard of a teen doing that. A waitress came up to our table finally.

"Sorry boys. We're short on staff tonight. What can I get ya?"

She finally looked up from her notepad at the table. Her eyes quickly noticed me.

"Is your girly friend staying tonight? I know the other one usually leaves."

The four guys looked to me as I became a bit flustered.

"Oh, no! I'm not gonna stay."

"Why not?" Zack asked.

"I didn't bring any money, and you guys **don't** wanna feed me."

"She's gonna eat with us, Malinda," Cloud spoke before Zack could utter another word, "I'm paying."

Cloud turned to me and gave me what seemed to be a mix of a smirk and a smile.

"Okay. I'll just get her a menu-"

"No need. I'll take the number eight, twelve ounce, medium rare, no chives, english muffin, with corn, and a strawberry lemonade."

Challenge accepted. The boys looked at me, astonished that I already knew the menu. The waitress looked amazed as well.

"You boys will be having the usual I assume?"

They all nodded as Zack muttered, "Uh-huh."

After the waitress left, I explained, "My dad built this exact same restaurant. The only thing different was the name. I thought this place looked familiar."

Again, the surprise on the guys' faces did not cease to return after quite a while. We had finally got our food, and I was all on it.

"You know ... If you're not gonna eat ... your money was so... ... wasted," I said in between large bites as I covered my mouth so they wouldn't see all the food. The boys looked at each other and began to eat awkwardly.

"You sure are hungry," Zack joked.

"Well, yeah. I haven't eaten since ... like ... the morning," I replied with a heavy gulp. It was almost seven in the evening. The boys chuckled as they finally began eating.

"What's the matter Cloud? Bitten off more than you can chew?" Sephiroth teased.

"I am done. Ha ha, can't eat it," Cloud confessed.

"Ooh, can I take it?" I asked abruptly.

"Sure," Cloud spoke unsurely as the boys started to look at me funny again. I was used to asking my father that, so it didn't seem unusual for me. I never seemed to consider the fact the Cloud wasn't exactly my father.

"What? Not like he's gonna eat it. Can't let it go to waste. 'Sides, you guys took too long to eat; I got hungry again," I said as I giggled, the others starting to laugh along with me. Once the boys finally finished their meals, Cloud spoke up.

"Well, it's time I get Chlora back," Cloud informed, turning to me. He put down the money for our meals and spoke again.

"When you're ready."

"Let's go. Thanks. It was nice meeting you guys," I said, waving back to the group.

"Likewise."

"You too."

"See you later."

"Bye guys," Cloud finished. We finally arrived back at my dorm.

"Thanks for showing me around Cloud, and, you know, taking care of me, I guess," I spoke, chuckling at the end.

"Well, Dan did ask me to watch over you."

"That explains it, but you can't forget Cloud, I'm not a little kid, okay?"

"Keep telling yourself that shortie," he replied as he ruffled my hair.

I laughed lightly as a remembered something, "Oh! I totally forgot again."

"Forgot what?"

"That Zack guy totally owes me a new Super Junior t-shirt. He ruined my old one with that stupid paint."

"How about I remind you next time?" Cloud joked.

"Yeah, that sould be great, thanks."

We talked for a little while more before I recalled something else from this morning.

"Hey Cloud?"

"Yeah?"

"How ...did you get my suitcases in my room? My door was locked."

"Well, I brought them in for you last night, but you wouldn't answer when we knocked on your door. You must have been really tired. She said she'd get them in to you, so I guess she used her prefect key to get them in there."

"Oh, okay."

Well, that locks not going to do me any good then if anyone with a prefect key can just waltz in. We finally reached the dorms, and I dug through my pocket for my keys. He spoke his farewell as he walked away.

"Later Cloud."

I opened the door and found myself embraced in cooler air. I yawned out and noticed my sleepiness as I closed the door behind me. Hmm, maybe I shouldn't have eaten so much meat. It made me so sleepy... I chuckled to myself quietly as I undressed and got ready for bed.

...

Oh, man. I just totally realized what I did! Why did I do that!? Oh my god, they must think I'm totally weird for taking Cloud's food like that! Shoot... Okay, I need to not do that kind of stuff here...

~Sunday: August 31st~

The day before, a redhead had spent all day moving into the room across from mine. This morning, from about six to ten, another girl moved into the one free room left. I didn't really get a good look at her, as I had been sleeping all morning, but caught a glimpse of pink hair the time I got up to use the restroom and peeked out. I'd finally finished setting up my own room to my liking. My bags and suitcases were all deflatable, so they were all flat, zipped up, and rested on the shelf at the top of the closet. It was nearly eleven when I decided to get up. I didn't really know anyone that much, so I spent most of my time playing videogames or watching shows on the internet. Sometimes I would watch horror movies or dig into some science fiction.

Oh, that's right. Tomorrow's the first day of high school isn't it? I smiled, anticipation welling up within me. I guess I should go see Miss Lulu then. Before I drag it out any longer. I went out into the living room, ate some Kix, and laid down on the couch for a few minutes. I freshened up, fixed my clothes, and put on a pair of blue Nike sneakers that had royal blue laces, soles, and Nike logos. The insides were the same color, with the characters and logo black. I had grey ankle socks on. I had slept in light grey sweats and a dark grey shirt with the Nike logo and letters on it in black. My hair was pulled up into a ponytail with the help of a poofy, pure red scrunchie. I knew it didn't coordinate well, but I love this scrunchie.

After having gone there a couple of times with Tifa and Rikku, I had no trouble finding the main offices. I walked to Miss Lulu's office and knocked on the door like Cloud had done the day I arrived.

"Ah, Chlora. Please, sit."

I did as I was told and waited for further instruction. She was ruffling through some files as she spoke, "I'm afraid the school you went to last isn't allowing access to your transcipt from other worlds at this time. I need you to take this test."

She led me into another room that was a bit emptier with another faculty member.

"Xemnas, she's going to take her test now."

"Yes, thank you Lulu. Miss Symphony, come sit here," he spoke, directing me to one of four desks in there. Miss Lulu had returned to her office. I sat and finished the test in just over an hour. The test was seventy-five questions long with what seemed like random questions.

"Um... Mr. ...?"

"Heart."

"Mr. Heart. I'm finished with my test."

"Here, give me the test and you may return to Miss Lulu's office."

"Okay," I spoke, leaving the room.

"Okay, Chlora. You might have a schedule change, but I won't know until your test results come in. That matter aside, I'd like to ask you something."

"Yes?"

"Did you have prefects at any of your previous schools?"

"No."

"So, you have no idea what a prefect is?"

"Sort of. Cloud told me about them."

"Well, good. That just about saved me a mouthful," Miss Lulu smiled.

"I am assigning you the duty of one who left us a bit too soon. From what your father tells me, I believe you are capable of carrying out this responsibilty. Can I trust you?" Miss Lulu asked out of the blue.

"About that," I spoke slowly, wishing I had a bit of warning before this 'responsibility' was thrusted upon me. Then, realizing all of what she said, I became a bit upset.


	7. Games

So Dad tells all his friends here all about me, wants me to go to this school, and never tells me about anyone! How totally uncool...

"Chlora?" Miss Lulu asked, noticing your pursed lips and slightly furrowed eyebrows.

"Huh? Oh, sorry. It's nothing," you apologized.

"So...?"

"Well, um, can I just think about it? I mean, that sounds like a big responsibility, and I don't really know anyone here. It's easier to approach people you know when something's going."

"That's okay. I expected an answer like that. I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable, I was only wondering."

Whew. What a relief. I was scared there for a second.

"Do you know anyone other than Cloud at this school?"

"Well, I met my roommates, Rikku and Tifa. I guess I just met two of them, I mean. I haven't met the other two that just moved in."

"Very well," she spoke, grabbing a booklet to give me, "Oh, here's your credit card. I forgot to include that with your things when I sent you your package."

"Uh, I, a credit card?" I asked unsure of what was going.

"Oh, it's not an actual bank card. It's a card you can earn credits on at school or by buying them with your own money. It's for the school outlet."

The outlet belongs to the school?

"All of the stores and eateries charge money like all other companies, but here, you can use credits instead of money."

"Oh, okay. Thank you," I spoke, not knowing what else to say. Thankfully, Xemnas walked in, breaking the coming unbearable silence. He placed some documents on Lulu's desk and walked out without a word. I eyed him, he just came and left as if no one else was in the room.

"Oh..."

I snapped my head back toward Miss Lulu.

"Well this ...This changes everything."

"What is it?"

"Your scores are remarkable, but I also noticed that you repeated the sixth grade?"

"Well, I had some personal issues. I was expelled, so I had to repeat that year."

"Well, as long as you make sure it never happens again-"

"It won't. I promise."

"...I think I can help you."

"With what?"

"Since you've been homeschooled through middle school, I believe you're caught up enough with your work, that we can move you up to the second year classes."

"Really!?" my eyes sparkled as I questioned her in disbelief. She nodded with a slight chuckle.

"So, your schedule might change some, but not too much."

"Okay. Miss Lulu, may I ask you a question unrelated?'

"Sure."

"How many of the faculty members have actually attended this school?"

"Interesting question. Why do you ask?"

"Just wondering."

There was a short pause before Miss Lulu answered.

"As far as I can think, everyone. Well, everyone except Mr. Shinra, but no one ever bothered to ask where he was from, so I guess no one knows for sure."

"Oh, wow. That's neat," I replied.

"Do... I go then?"

"Yes."

I began to walk out before I was called back.

"Oh, Chlora?"

"Yes?"

"Welcome to SINES, and don't forget to come by my office after school on Friday."

I smirked, then smiled as I replied, "Thanks, and ...I won't."

I took my leave and began walking to my room. Once I walked up the stairs to the second floor, my phone began to play the song that indicated someone sent a text message. When I opened my phone, I saw that it was from my buddy George.

'_Hey Cas so Im pretty sure your dad got you the new game :p_'

'_Ha, yeah, which one?_'

'_The only one Ive been buggin you about! Call of duty ghosts! Hurry up and get on!_'

I chuckled inwardly and went to my room quickly, turning on my XBOX360. I locked the door and sat on my bed, excitedly unwrapping the new game. I got the game ready, put on my headset, and waited patiently for the game to set and load.

(Signed in as 'HollowHeroWolfgang')

"Woah."

"Yeah. I though you'd like it. Wanna go for a couple of rounds?"

"You bet."

We played from noon until dusk and someone else had finally joined.

('HockeyChamp' has signed in)

('HockeyKing' has signed in)

"Woah, I didn't think anyone else had this game yet!"

"Well, technically, they're not supposed to. Only a few people have access to these kinds of games, mon."

George spoke up, "Hey, we've been getting kinda bored the last few hours. You guys wanna go at Team Deathmatch?"

"Sure!"

"Sounds good!"

We played for over two hours and were pretty much tied up.

"Hey, you two are pretty good," answered the one with the deeper voice.

"You too. Where are you guys from?"

"We live in Damascus on Midgar. What about you two?"

"Hey, my buddy Wolfgang just moved over there! I live in Los Angeles on Solar Earth."

"Oh yeah. So what's the deal with your friend? Why doesn't he talk?"

Chlora smirked at hearing the male pronoun being used for her.

"Oh, his mic' broke.'

Chlora giggled upon hearing this. Her and George did that all the time. Sometimes she and Amy would do that too, but only with people who knew that Amy was a girl. The two of them did not speak otherwise. Chlora's microphone was not even broken, she just always turned it off. It all started one day, when Chlora and George were playing. Chlora wanted to see how the other players reacted as long as she did not speak, and it has gone on ever since.

My door was slightly open from a moment I went to go get snacks, and I heard a knock on the main door. The second knock made me realize that I was alone in the dorm.

'_brb_'

Since you wasn't supposed to speak, I just used the chat feature. I looked through the small magnifying glass in my door to see Cloud's back. Once you opened the door, Cloud turned to you and smiled.

"Hey, just the girl I was looking for."

"What's up Cloud?"

"I came to give you your new schedule. So, you're moving up a grade?"

"Miss Lulu told you? Come in."

He closed the door behind him and sat on one of the couches with me.

"No, you have an eighth period now. Unless they're going to start giving eighth period to freshmen."

"What do you mean?" I asked as I looked over my new schedule.


	8. First Day in High School

1 Latin - Luxord - E32  
>2 World Hist - Vexen - F14<br>3 Econ/Govt - Auron - F23  
>4 Phys Ed - Xemnas - GYM<br>5 English - Fran - A18  
>6 Astronomy - Saix - C21<br>7 Statistics - Lazard - B47  
>8 Music - Laguna - E40<p>

"First years are usually the only ones in high school who only have seven periods."

"Why is that? Oh, does that have somthing to do with us only having seven periods in middle school and junior high?"

"Yeah. They want the students to get adjusted to high school first, then readjust them to be able to get all the credits needed."

"Oh, that's neat."

"So, did Miss Lulu say anything about switching dorms?"

"No, why?"

"Just wondering. So, what have you been up to?"

Oh no! The game!

"Hold on."

I walked back into the room and opened up access to the qwerty keyboard.

'_gtg sry HHC c ya later_'

I then turned off the console and Cloud walked into my room.

"Chlora?"

Speak of the devil.

"Sorry, I was listening to music and forgot to turn it off."

"On your XBOX?"

"Yeah. ...You do know that you can rip music on here, right?"

Cloud shook his head and smirked.

"Sorry. Guess I forgot. How long have you been alone here anyway?"

"A couple hours. Why?"

"Just asking."

"You 'just ask' a lot of things. Did you come to give me my schedule or to check up on me?"

Cloud chuckled and put his hands up on mock surrender, "I guess you caught me."

He walked over to me and placed a hand on my shoulder.

"I'll see you tomorrow, Chlora. Take care," Cloud finished as he walked off and out of the dorm.

"Cloud. ..."

Interesting guy. Seems like kind of a weirdo, though. Well, I guess who doesn't these days? Another knock came to my door a few minutes later. I walked out of the room I just entered with hot cocoa now in my hand.

"What?"

Now who in the world could that be? I wondered already knowing the answer to that. I walked over to the door and opened it with a smile. I assumed it would be Cloud since he had just left. Once I opened the door, my smile faltered at the unexpected guest.

"Oh, um, Squall. Hey," I spoke as my smile resurfaced.

"Hi, Chlora. Miss Lulu is going to have one of the prefects escort you to class each day this week. I just came to let you know that I'll be here in the morning to take you."

"Oh, okay."

"Make sure you're not out past 9:30 after school starts. We have a curfew here. I thought I'd let you know that too, in case no one else has told you yet."

"Oh, thanks," I laughed.

Squall nodded, and we exchanged farewells. I watched him head off for a moment then closed the door.

Squall. ...Wonder where Leon came from. Middle name? Probably. I mean, that's usually the case anyway.

I yawned while I walked back into my room once more. I got one of my manga and began to read it until my eyes got tired. I left to wash my cup and left it to dry. I went back into my room, got ready for bed, and went to sleep. The first day of school was just around the corner, and I was anxious to get there.

~The Next Morning~

I awoke to my alarm clock blaring at six o'clock. I snoozed it every five minutes until six thirty when I finally got out of bed. My morning school routine consisted of me staring into the mirror tiredly for about the first five minutes. I need to pee.

I rubbed my eyes before I closed the door to use the restroom. Once I finished, I spent the next fifteen minutes getting ready. I brushed my teeth and fixed my hair up a little, then dressed in uniform. I returned to the restroom to put on deoderant and finish my hair. I styled it in a neat updo, leaving out a few loose ends in the front. I put a thick silver chain belt through the empty belt loops of my new skirt that reached just above my knees.

My skirt was mainly black with a green and purple plaid pattern on it. I also had a half-sleeved black dress shirt with purple buttons, lining, and short bottom frills. Over it was a thin, short-sleeved black blazer with green lining and a green and cream colored crest on the left chest area thinly outlined in dark green. The crest was of a shield behind two bladed looking keys which crossed over one another to make an 'x' shape. Above it was the acronym 'SINES'.' I also had knee-high white cream colored socks with two lines of green near the very top. My shoes were a brand new pair of classy black mary jane flats.

I folded my sleeves up once about two inches, and once I was completely ready, I went to play the PlayStation2 for a few minutes. I have forty minutes to spare since class starts at 7:30 and enjoy playing for a bit in the morning to wake up my brain. However, before I could hit the power button, a knock came to my door. I huffed slightly and set my controller down. I unlocked the door, opened it, and came face to face with a familiar brunette.

"Squall?"

I looked over at my alarm clock.

"It's not even seven yet. What are you doing here?"

"We're going to get breakfast before class."

"I don't eat breakfast."

"Don't you ever get hungry right before lunch?"

"Well, yeah, but that's because I'm always hungry."

"Then, why don't you eat breakfast?"

... I shrugged my shoulders. I don't really fucking know to be honest.

"I don't know, I just... Hold on," I spoke as I sighed. I closed my door somewhat and went to put away my headset and controller. I grabbed my backpack, slightly huffing in defeat without a point to argue. I then turned back to Squall.

"Okay, let's go Mr. Squall."

Squall let out a hesitant 'okay.'

"May I see your schedule?"

"Oh, yeah," I spoke as I searched for it, "I have Latin first with Luxord."

Squall looked over my schedule and mumbled to himself before handing it back to me. The walk was uncomfortably silent. I wonder what he's thinking about. I wonder where he got that scar too, but it's really noticeable, so he probably gets asked about it enough already.

Once we were there, I followed Squall who immediately went to the breakfast line. They served pancakes with syrup packets, tangerines, bananas, buttered toast, and milk, all of which I loved. Next, I followed Squall to a table already occupied by Cloud, Tifa, Rikku, Zack, Reno, and someone else I didn't recognize, leaving two empty seats for Squall and me. I sat between Tifa and Cloud, who was next to Rikku. Squall sat across from Tifa and next to the guy I didn't know who was next to Reno who was next to Zack. Everyone greeted the two of us and we returned the greetings, then I turned to the guy across from me.

"You seem to know my name. I don't believe we've met," I spoke, hand out.

"I'm Rude," he replied shaking my hand.

He seems polite enough to me, aha ha. ... I make bad jokes. Everyone continued on eating. Tifa, Squall, and Rude began to have thier own conversation that wasn't of interest to me. Rikku continued her conversation with Zack and Reno who both took several glances at me. Cloud, who was already finished with his food, dropped out of the conversation, relaxed his head on his hand, and began to subconsciously stare at me in a wonderfully curious manner. A small 'ow' caused me to look up from the wondrous plate I had been concentrating on.

"At least say something. Don't just stare at her like a creepo!"


	9. Boys and Class

Rikku was scolding Cloud whom she had previously punched in the shoulder since she was not able to get his attention any other way. Cloud turned to me and tried to figure out what was catching his attention.

"Umm, you look ...different."

I looked down to myself and found nothing new.

"I dunno. It's probably just the uniform," I suggested.

"It's totally the uniform," Reno agreed as Zack added to his point.

"You've got a great figure Chlora."

Huh? That caught me totally off guard. Not only do I rarely hear comments like that, but the conversation also came totally out of left field. It was really unexpected. Rikku decided to take part in the conversation.

"You know, he's right. Ever since you got here, you've been wearing baggy clothes that completely hide your figure. Now that I think about it, we can actually see your legs now too. You have really nice legs."

"Uh... Thanks..."

Nope. I was not feeling awkward at all. Everything is fine. Yeah. Keep telling yourself that. I was becoming somewhat flustered from the situation. My savior finally came to the rescue and rang, signaling the start of classes. I enjoyed my food and took my toast and milk with me, seeing as how I really had no time to finish during the little fiasco that had just happened.

"Leon, if you like, Cloud, Reno, and I will take Chlora to class. We all have it and your class is on the other side of the campus," Tifa offered. Squall looked at me, then back to the group, and back to me as I was finishing off the last of my toast.

"Is that fine with you?"

My mouth was filled with toast, so I nodded and gave Squall a thumbs up as I communicated with him through 'mhm' noises. He chuckled and shook his head at my actions, said thank you to Cloud and Tifa, and went off to his class. I chugged down my milk from the small carton and tossed it into a nearby trash can.

"Thirsty?" Reno joked.

I shrugged and said, "The milk cartons at school aren't really all that big, so I just got used to drinking them that way."

"Huh..."

"So, you guys all have Latin with me?"

"Yep."

"Great. At least I won't be all awkward looking for a seat in class, or are they assigned?"

"Actually, with the way this school is, you would think so, but there's almost never assigned seating here," Tifa informed.

"Cool."

I followed Cloud and Tifa near the middle of the back of the class.

"Why did Reno go all the way up there?"

Cloud chuckled, "He never pays attention in class, so Luxord made him sit up there."

"Oh, wow."

Tifa sat next to Cloud, I sat on the other side of her.

"So, does Latin ever get confusing because so much of the English language is based off of it?"

"Maybe when you pay that much attention to it, but it's actually an easy class compared to other languages."

"Oh, okay."

"Hi Cloud, Tifa."

"Hey Vincent," the two responded in unison as I turned around. When did he get there? He didn't even make a sound. Vincent was sitting in the other seat next to me and was already ready for class. He was facing forward when he greeted them, but turned to me after he noticed I was staring.

"Hello Chlora. Remember me?"

"Yeah. Hi Vincent," I greeted with a smile.

"You look confused," Vincent mused.

"Huh? No, I was- I didn't hear you come up, that's why."

"That's Vinny for ya!"

I heard Vincent sigh and mumble 'pest' just before the girl began to speak again.

"Hi! I'm Yuffie, you must be Chlora, right?"

"Yeah..."

This is Yuffie? She's so ...energetic. I looked to Tifa for confirmation since I remember her mentioning Yuffie sometime earlier. She nodded, and I turned back to see Yuffie trying to make conversation with Vincent after she sat in the seat in front of him. I leaned over to Tifa and whispered something to her.

"Are they friends?"

"Yep. Sines' sure is an interesting school, don't you think? You get to meet all kinds of people."

No kidding... I noticed Sephiroth walk in with two other males who all sat in their own corner near the front. Several other people started piling in before class began. Because of where I lived, a lot of the people in class appeared to have unusual hair colors. They all looked so amazing though. Aerith was also in my class and ended up sitting near the group I was with. Once class was over, Cloud and Tifa escorted me out of the E building. Squall had just arrived there to take me to class. The two of them walked off to their class after I had been handed off to Squall.

"We have the next two classes together, so that will make things easier," Squall explained to you.

"That's good."

We walked into history class to see a tall man with long blonde hair seated at the dark wooden desk at the front of the class.

"Hey, Chlora! Over here!"

"Rikku," Vexen scolded her loudly for her shouting.

"Uh, sorry," she said smiling sheepishly as she waved me over. I was kind of embarrassed now and was a bit nervous to look at the teacher. Squall and I went to sit with her near the back. I noticed Rude was in the class too, but he sat farther back with another guy who had lighter skin and dirty blond hair.

Once class had finished, Rikku introduced me to the three in front of us. I was between Leon and Rikku with a blue-haired girl in front of Leon, a brunette boy in front of Rikku, and a blonde boy in front of me.

"Chlora, this is Aqua, Ven, and Terra."

"Hi," Aqua greeted.

"Hey," I replied.

"Nice to meet you," Terra said as I smiled.

Aqua looked toward Ven, who was still facing forward. She smacked the back of her hand against his shoulder, before he finally looked up.

"Huh?"

Aqua gestured toward me with her head. He looked to me, then back to what he was working on. He set his pen down and turned toward me again.

"Oh, sorry. Hey, I'm Ven," he said as he smiled and shook my hand.

"I'm Chlora."

He smiled at me for a few seconds longer before turning back to continue with whatever it was. Ven has beautiful eyes. The bell rang, and I followed Leon out while Rikku tagged along.

"OMG. Ven totally likes you."

"What?" Leon and I asked simultaneously. Leon scoffed in amusement, "What makes you say that?"

"Uh, hello? Did you see the way he was _looking_ at _her_!?"

"Yeah, but he was just looking at me. ... Are you okay?" I asked taking a slight step back.

"Oh my gosh, Chlora! Do Tifa and I need to teach you about boys!?"

I began to blush and commented hesitantly, "N-no! I'm fourteen, Rikku. I don't need to know about boys."

"What!?"

"You should listen to her Rikku," came a voice from behind her. It was Cloud.

"And if I remember correctly, you don't have class with us," Cloud said with his arms crossed. Rikku only pouted and ran off to her next class as we neared ours.

"Sorry, my sister gets kind of boy crazy sometimes," Cloud said as he shook his head.

"Rikku's your sister?"


	10. Girls are Weird

"Rikku's your sister?"

"Yeah, I have two little brothers too. Come to think of it, your dad mentioned you're an only child, right?"

"Mhm, what about you Squall?"

"I have an older sister and a younger brother."

I always wondered what it would be like to have siblings. I guess being an only child has its perks though. We can save more money that way, and I don't have to argue with someone constantly.

I followed Leon and Cloud into class, and the first person I noticed were the two Sephiroth sat with in first period sitting near the door. Anyway, I followed Cloud and Leon. Tifa and Zack were there as well. The four of them were all in a row, so I went to sit behind Tifa. Zack moved back a seat to be by my right.

"Hiya."

"Hey Zack. How are you?"

"I'm good. What about you?"

"Hey guys," a familiar voice spoke. I turned to my left and recalled this scene all too well.

"Hey, how do you keep doing that?" I asked Vincent after everyone had greeted him. Vincent only smiled in response. I just started gazing into his eyes when I remembered that I was talking with Zack. We talked for a bit before and after Auron spoke about the economy class. Class finally ended, and Vincent smirked at me.

"Good luck with Yuffie in PE."

I raised a brow at him as he walked out. How does he know my schedule...? I had my next class with Cloud and Zack, so I was handed over to Cloud again. Once we got to the blacktop, I noticed Rude, Sephiroth, and one of Sephiroth's friends there. Like every other PE class ever, we had assigned numbers, and Xemnas was calling out the numbers. It was weird though because I thought he only worked in the office.

Zack was in front of a petite blonde girl with fair skin who was in front of me, and I was in front of Cloud. Yuffie was to Zack's right, and Rude was way at the end in another corner. Next to my right was Sephiroth's friend with Sephiroth just behind him. Ven was to my left, but he looked a bit different and acted kind of weird when I smiled and waved to him. Since it was the first week of school, we were allowed to play with the basketballs or just walk around the blacktop. I tried to get one first so I didn't have to ask to join anyone's game. Luckily, Cloud invited me to play with his group.

"Hey Chlora, come play with us."

"Okay," I replied with a smile. I walked over to Cloud while everyone else in the group kind of stopped the game. Sephiroth approached me, so naturally, I greeted him.

"Hi, Sephiroth."

"Hi, Chlora."

His eyes were just as amazing as Ven's and Cloud's. Why does everyone have such gorgeous eyes here? I mean, don't get me wrong. People have said that about my eyes a lot because they're so unusual, but still.

"Chlora, this is one of my brothers, Roxas."

"Roxas? Oh, that's why you were acting weird. Sorry... I thought you were that Ven guy."

"Ven?" Cloud questioned.

"Yeah. We have second period together. Er, are you guys twins?"

Roxas nodded sheepishly as he rubbed on his arm.

"You already know Zack and Sephiroth. I want you to meet Tidus, Wakka, and Genesis."

They each greeted me in their own way. Wakka's voice sounded a bit familiar, but I shrugged the thought off after a while. Then I noticed another thing.

"Cloud, why aren't any of the other girls playing?"

"The girls here don't really like sports."

"I'm surprised _you_ even agreed," Zack added as he made another shot.

"Then why did you ask **me**?"

"Dan said that you liked sports. He told me about how a lot of girls from SE actually play them."

"Girls don't play sports here? Then what do they do for fun?"

"They do lots of things girls do. You don't know?" Sephiroth teased.

"Well, like Cloud said, I'm not really from here, so no, I don't," I joked back.

I was on a team with Cloud, Zack, and Roxas. I wasn't really keeping score, but I'm not sure anyone else was either. We had fun and worked up a good light sweat, but it kind of sucked because we were in our regular uniforms. We wouldn't be getting lockers or outfits for PE until Wednesday. It was time for lunch, so I kind of just stuck with Cloud after that.

We were the first to arrive to the cafeteria because we were allowed to leave a few minutes before the bell rang. I sat next to Cloud and Yuffie sat across from us. Zack and Rude sat at a table next to us while Genesis and Sephiroth sat at another table near us. Tifa and Leon came over next. Tifa sat next to Yuffie, and Leon sat between Cloud and Tifa. After a few minutes, someone else came up behind me.

"Boo," the voice spoke calmly rather close to my ear. I was startled, and unfortunately, it showed.

"Hey, Chlora."

"Hi, Vincent," I sighed with a smile as I rolled my eyes. He sat next to me, and I'm not sure if anyone noticed, but I think Yuffie was starting to look at me weird. I didn't want to say anything though, I could just be paranoid. Aerith was the last to arrive, and she sat next to Yuffie. After a long moment, I noticed Yuffie start to glare slightly. I don't think she was looking at me this time though...

"Lumina," I heard Tifa mumble in surprise as the rest of the group looked behind me, so I looked.

"So, is this the new dumpling? We're sure going to have fun with her," the girl sneered. She had light pink hair, and Vanitas had his arm on her shoulders.

"Leave her alone Lumina," Cloud spoke as he got up and guarded me. Vincent followed in suit and Vanitas took a defensive stance. Oh no.

"Hey, guys. It's fine. She didn't do anything to me. C-calm down, okay?"

"Yeah Strife, chill. You too Valentine. ...Freak," Lumina antagonized before turning on her heels and walking away with Vanitas. He doesn't really talk much, does he?

"Tifa, your sister's a bitch."

"Yuffie," Tifa scolded.

"Well..."

"Vincent, are you alright?" I asked.

"Why? They didn't do anything to me either."

"I know, but... Why did she call you that?"

He just smirked and replied, "Have you even gotten a good look at me, or do you need glasses?"

I just looked at the group in confusion as we sat back down.

"She must never have heard of the yellow-eyed demon," Leon suggested.

"Yes I have. He's popular where I come from, but what does that have to do with anything?"

It's mostly because of Supernatural, but still... Yuffie pointed at Vincent, "His eyes are freaking yellow!"

"So? My eyes are freaking purple. I'm like the only person on my world besides my own dad who has purple eyes. Everyone else's eyes are brown, or blue, or green. Maybe grey, but that's it."

"What about the way I dress?"

"Trust me, you're fine. There are so many images from the internet that I will never unsee of people who look just downright creepy."

The rest of the table was silent until Yuffie blurted out, "I like her!"

The others started to laugh or chuckle and smiled at me. We finished eating, and soon it was time for fifth period. Leon was looking over my schedule again to escort me.

"Oh no. You have English with Fran _now_?"

"Uh, that's what it says," I responded anxiously.

Leon sighed and continued, "My little brother's in that class. His name is Seifer. If you want to stay out of trouble, don't talk to him, don't look at him. Got it?"

"Er, yeah."

Geez, what's wrong with his brother? Leon gestured and mouthed for somone to come over. I think he whispered a name like Hayner or something.

"Squall? What is it?"


	11. So Many New Faces

"Squall? What is it?"

Oh good. I was beginning to think I was the only one that called him that.

"This is Chlora."

"Hi," I said quietly with a small wave.

"Oh... Is she the new student?"

"Yes. She's from SE."

"No worries. I'll keep her away from Seifer," the boy said as if reading Leon's mind.

"Thanks. I won't be too far away this time, so I'll be back to take you to your next class."

"Okay."

"My name's Hayner by the way."

"Nice to meet you."

"Oh, come on. Don't be so formal," he teased. He led me past the teacher, who had tan skin and long white hair, to a corner of the room.

"These are my friends, Pence, Sora, and Riku," he introduced as we sat down. I sat next to the wall on the other side of Hayner.

"Hi. I'm Chlora. I'm new here."

"Oh, you're the girl everyone's been talking about," informed the brunette known as Sora.

"What?"

"Yeah, we've heard your name come up a few times," Hayner answered, "Cloud, Zack, Tifa."

"Oh, that's kind of embarrassing."

"Don't be embarrassed, they didn't say anything mean," Sora comforted.

"Yeah, but it's still embarrassing to hear that they're talking about me. Mean or not, I still don't know what they said," I replied sheepishly. Hayner looked like he was about to speak again, but Fran began to address the class. I was a bit relieved that none of the teachers had called me to the front of the class to be introduced. Once class was almost over, I turned to Hayner.

"So what's the deal with Seifer?"

"I think it's best if you ask his brother that."

I turned back to see Riku. I looked to the others, and they pretty much nodded and agreed with Hayner, so I mumbled in agreement as well. Then class finished, and I waited in the halls for Leon.

"Hey. You're Chlora, right? The new girl?"

"That's me!"

"It's a pleasure. Name's Seifer," he said as he held out his hand to shake. Uh oh, not good.

"Um, sorry. I don't mean to be rude, but I'm kind of a germaphobe," I lied with a nervous fidget. He chuckled and smirked.

"Well you won't be when I'm done with y-"

"Seifer."

"Squall," Seifer spoke as he rolled his eyes. He then turned to face his older brother.

"Quit harassing the new girl."

Seifer got defensive and raised his voice, "I didn't even-!"

"It's okay," I quickly said as I pulled Leon away by the wrist with my sleeve covering my hand.

"What are you doing?"

I let go of him and replied, "Look, I know you said he's bad news, but don't go assuming things. I really don't like it when people do that. ... And I'm sorry. I would have avoided him, but no one pointed out who he was or told me what he looked like."

"Well, now you know. ... I'm sorry too. I should have told you something about him aside from his name."

I smiled and placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. He looked at my schedule for the last time and said he'd be back to get me for our last two classes together. Tidus called me over. I remembered him and Wakka from PE. I sat down and was about to be introduced to the other two when Saix began to speak.

"Welcome, students, to Astronomy. I want you all to get your things and stand at the front of the class, and I will assign your seats," he spoke in a commandeering manner. I was in the second row from the front with Riku in front of me. To my left was Tidus with Wakka behind him and a girl named Yuna in front of him. She's the girl they were with earlier. There was someone by the name of Yazoo to my right with a person named Kadaj behind him and Sephiroth in front of him. Then, there was another guy named Vaan behind me. Once Saix was finished speaking, Yuna turned to me.

"Hi, I'm Yuna."

"Hi. I'm Chlora. Who was the other guy you were all with earlier?" I asked the three of them.

"Oh, that was Gippal. This is another of our friends, Riku."

"Yeah. I met him last period," I said as I smiled at Riku.

"Have you met Vaan?" Tidus asked as he gestured behind me.

"No, I haven't. Hi."

He smiled cheerily and waved to me. I turned back around and tilted my head forward to look at Sephiroth.

"Hi Sephiroth."

"Hi there Chlora," he replied with a sly smile. I then looked to the guy next to me. He kept staring forward for a moment, then turned to me.

"What is it?"

"Hi," I squeaked shyly.

"...Hi."

"You're Yazoo, right?"

"That's right. You're Chlora, the new girl. Hmm," he smirked at me before facing forward again. I turned back to Kadaj and just waved to him timidly before turning back forward.

I felt kind of weird after talking to Yazoo. After class ended, Tidus, Wakka, and Yuna approached me just outside the classroom.

"Hi, Chlora."

"Hey, guys. What's up?"

Yuna look toward Tidus and Wakka unsurely.

"Listen, mon. Sephiroth is okay and all, but you shouldn't hang around Yazoo and his brothers. They will bring you trouble."

Oh. My. Gosh. It's them. I thought I recognized Tidus' voice, but hearing Wakka talk more... It's them. They're the hockey guys George and I were playing with!

"Chlora, are you alright?" Yuna asked.

"What's going on here?" Leon questioned.

"Oh nothing. Yeah, I'm fine. Thanks guys, I'll remember that," I spoke as we split ways.

"What was that all about?"

"They were just talking to me about some students in my class. I kind of zoned out while they were talk to me."

I followed Leon over to sit with Zack, Rude, and I think Gippal.

"Hey guys," I spoke while they greeted us in return.

"Hi Gippal. My name's Chlora."

"Yeah, I know. Zack hasn't stopped talking about how cute you look in that uniform," Gippal teased.

"Hey!"

"Oh..." I blushed as I sat next to Leon in front of the three of them. Lazard started to prepare us for the lessons beginning tomorrow for a while. There was about ten minutes of class left when a girl walked over.

"What's the matter Leon? Couldn't go five minutes without arm candy, huh?"

"Fuck off Rinoa," Zack said. Whoa, calm down...

"This doesn't involve you, _Puppy_. You're just mad because you can't keep a girl. You know she's going to walk away."

"Don't talk about Cissnei," Zack spat, getting defensive and tensing up. Cloud mentioned the name Cissnei before...

"Hey, Zack. Cool it," Gippal said while Rude eyed everyone cautiously and I sat there like an uninformed baffoon.

"Whatever, you know it's true-"


End file.
